Steven Funaki Adams was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, to a Tongan mother and an English father. In 2011, Adams played for the Wellington Saints of the National Basketball League. In 2012, he moved to the United States to play college basketball for Pittsburgh. In June 2013, he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Adams is the first New Zealander to be selected in the first round of an NBA draft since 1999. He is currently playing for the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA.
About Steven Adams in brief
Steven Funaki Adams was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, to a Tongan mother and an English father. His father, Sid Adams, served in the Royal Navy and later settled in New Zealand where he fathered 18 children with five women. Sid Adams was in his sixties when his youngest child Steven was born, and he died in 2006 of stomach cancer. Adams has identified his father’s death as one of the defining events of his life. In 2011, Adams played for the Wellington Saints of the National Basketball League. In 2012, he moved to the United States to play college basketball for Pittsburgh. In June 2013, he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. In his NBA debut on 30 October 2013, Adams recorded two points, three rebounds, one assist and three fouls in 18½ minutes off the bench against the Utah Jazz.
On 16 November 2014, Adams earned NBA All-Rookie Team honours. Adams recorded a career-high six blocks in a 69-65 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. He failed to win over the 119 110 win mark for the rest of the regular season. He appeared in 81 games and averaged 3 points, 4 rebounds, 4 and 1 blocks in 14 minutes in Game 6 of the playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Adams is the first New Zealander to be selected in the first round of an NBA draft since 1999 when Vonteego Cummings was picked by the Indiana Pacers with the 26th pick. He is currently playing for the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA. His half-sister, Valerie Adams, is a dual Olympic gold medallist and four-time world champion shot-putter.
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This page is based on the article Steven Adams published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 09, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
